Meet our Wellness Guides

​Just like humans, wellness practices comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. We are thrilled to collaborate with local wellness teachers and guides to bring a unique and first time event for the Yew Mountain Center called Wellness Days. Experience a variety of practices that may help you find wellness in your life.
Take a moment to read about some of our guides and we hope you can join us in April. Our schedule includes more instructors, please check it out on our website or FB event page.

1. Who are you? Annette Naber, Ph.D.
   After 20+ years of working as a clinical psychologist, I have re-tooled as a life coach and offer self-development workshops and retreats. I am particularly interested in developing therapeutic techniques that reconnect us to Nature. My favorite process involves Forest Bathing and mindful earth art and journaling. You can find out more at: www.EmeraldMountainSanctuary.com I am also an amateur photographer and enjoy writing and have combined these two passions on my blog: www.BeautyAlongtheRoad.wordpress.com.
2. What workshop/class are you presenting at The Yew? Forest Bathing & Journaling
3. How has experiential learning made a difference in your life? Or how has your wellness practice made a difference in your life/life of others? I interweave my own healthy lifestyle (organic gardening, foraging for wild edibles and medicinals, creating my own medicinal tinctures, yoga and movement disciplines) with my teachings and retreats.
4. Describe a time you were inspired when being outdoors.
   When I found a discarded snake skin hanging from a tree, it moved me to contemplate and write about it, research the archetype of snake, and come to a deep realization about my own life that still reverberates in the way I choose to live.
5. What do you hope participants will get out of the weekend/your workshop?
   I am hoping that participants will re-connect deeply with the forest, enjoy the mindful techniques I am teaching and allow these to deepen their Nature experience

Sparrow Huffman, yoga instructor, owner of General Lewis Inn & Stardust Cafe

1. Who are you? I am Sparrow Huffman, native of Lobelia WV, and RYT 200 yoga instructor. I also dabble in restaurants and hotels when I’m not busy homeschooling and doing yoga.
2. What workshop/class are you presenting at The Yew? I will be teaching a Roots and Rise early morning flow yoga class where we will firmly establish our foundations, and connection to mama earth, then flow freely from that solid root system.
3. How has experiential learning made a difference in your life? Or how has your wellness practice made a difference in your life/life of others? I was able to fully heal from a lower back disc injury through yoga practice and so so much more. I love sharing this deep practice with others. The yoga asana practice brings me fully into my physical body, and allows me to release all the mind chatter in order to come into a meditative space.
4. Describe a time you were inspired when being outdoors. I am inspired by our sweet mama earth every day. I am in awe of our waters and our trees, and her innate ability to heal again and again and again.
5. What do you hope participants will get out of the weekend/your workshop? I hope to share my deep love for nature, yoga, and community with participants
6. Anything else you'd like participants to know?
   The Yew is the work of many hands and countless hearts. I am honored to add my hands and my heart to this incredible project.

Barbara Stanley, Ashtanga Yoga instructor
Who are you?
I am a 71 year old woman who is a mother, partner, graphic designer, fine artist and Ashtanga Yoga student and practitioner. I’ve been teaching for 15 years and practicing for 18. I have studied extensively with David Swenson, David Williams, Casie Tavares, Keiko Armstrong and currently Manju Jois, son of Ashtanga Founder Sri K Pattabhi Jois, who I study with regularly and who certified me to teach Ashtanga Primary and Intermediates Series.
What workshop/class are you presenting at The Yew?
We will explore Ashtanga Yoga, a system introduced by the world by Sri K Pattahbi Jois where breath is synchronized with movement through a set series of postures. In Ashtanga the focus is on the breath and energy locks, which builds intense internal heat, purifying the body by eliminating toxins through sweat.
How has experiential learning made a difference in your life? Or how has your wellness practice made a difference in your life/life of others?
Absolutely. Through an individualized hands-on approach, the Mysore Method, my teachers have instilled in my body and mind through asana, pranayama and chanting how to approach my practice and my life.
Over the years many students have told me I have inspired them. Some have gone on to also become yoga teachers, which inspires me.
Describe a time you were inspired when being outdoors.
I live between the Greenbrier River and the Greenbrier River Trail, which is always an inspiring place to be. Nothing inspires me more than being on a beach in Maui with fellow yogis or kayaking down the Greenbrier.
What do you hope participants will get out of the weekend/your workshop?
Not many people in WV experience Ashtanga Yoga, one of the oldest systems of yoga. There is a handful of Ashtanga teachers in our state, so learning it can be quite a quest. This system is designed to eventually be part of your daily life where you practice on your own, at your own pace, checking in with your teacher regularly. Originally, this system of yoga was used for healing and that remains the focus, if taught the traditional way. It is also designed to be individualized so anyone can practice. My intention is to inspire those attending during and after class and stress the importance and benefits of integrating a regular yoga practice into their lives.
Anything else you'd like participants to know?
This will be a no-stress class void of competition, doing the feel good.

Who are you?
Julie Hare, MD is a board certified Family Medicine physician and a certified Ayurvedic Health Coach. She works full time as a clinician at Pocahontas Memorial Hospital’s Rural Health Clinic, and serves as the clinic’s medical director. She owns and operates Allegheny Integrative Medicine, LLC. Dr. Hare came to Ayurvedic medicine through her own journey in dealing with chronic illness. The impact of this amazing medical system was so powerful she has shifted gears and gone from Ayurvedic patient, to student and now teacher and coach. She currently offers a twice annual online Ayurvedic group cleanse practice (free) and teaches a monthly meditation, movement and somatic therapy class for women 18 over.
“Experiential learning is what medicine is all about. In medical school there is a mantra: see one, do one, teach one. Immersing yourself in all aspects of the learning process, from the start, is how one gains true mastery. One of my most profound, experiential lessons early on was being a patient; I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in medical school. Becoming a patient with a difficult-to-treat, chronic illness taught me so much about being a doctor. It also illuminated the strengths and short comings of modern medicine and eventually led me down a different path. I have gone from working as a molecular biology researcher at the NIH to finding medicine in meditation and chanting in Sanskrit.
Our fundamental need as planetary creatures is creating a solid connection to the Earth. Paying attention to the cycles of the moon, having seasonal habits and practices, eating organic food, drinking clean water and breathing unpolluted air is our basic nourishment and medicine. I fell in love with West Virginia the moment I set foot here. As an urban child, I am amazed every day that I live on a mountain in the woods. It is my own backyard that allows me constant connection to my true physical world. I drink the water that comes out of the hills, grow my own food and wild gather herbs, mushrooms and plants from the surrounding forest.
My intention for this lecture is to provide an introduction to Ayurveda. It will highlight some core concepts and will provide some take-home knowledge and start using immediately. Specifically, we will explore the doshas together: the fundamental principle of physiologic uniqueness which helps us understand our own bodies and minds and guides us in how to best care for ourselves. Additionally we will look at how establishing a daily routine, a dinacharya, can support our individual fundamental purpose. In other words, how to wake up every day to your dharma.”
In love and peace, Namaste,
Julie Hare